Adam Botsford is a man better known around Minneapolis as Botzy, the fun-loving rapper whom also happens to be 1/6th of the local beloved band Culture Cry Wolf. He has made his presence known around the city both as a solo artist, and with the band. It seems to be that anything Botzy gets his hands on becomes infected with his artistry, which is nothing short of ingenious. He holds true to the lifestyle of a creative musician and embodies it in an appealing, friendly and honest way. Many times in the music industry artists tend to believe they’re larger than life, but I am confident Botzy will never be one of them. He’s humble, he’s original, he’s quick-witted and here’s what he had to say:
UG: How long were you rapping before joining the super group Culture Cry Wolf?
B: I was rapping for roughly 3 years before starting Culture Cry Wolf. During those years I was doing a lot of observing, learning, and polishing. I probably created 100+ half-finished songs during that phase, and rocked just as many empty shows. Training day(s).
UG: When did your independent label Deaf To the Static Records form? Who else helped bring the dream to a reality?
B: Deaf to the Static Records formed during a very interesting time period of my life. I was fresh in the middle of loss and drama, and tired of offering up my energy to these things. The name itself will forever remind me of that. I had a strong team behind me, and still do. People like Crista Bell, Druby Soho and Wesley Opus were very helpful in my first few movements. Crista Bell often doesn’t get enough credit for her work, but she is directly responsible for many of my relationships in this scene, and almost all of my show execution.
I’m not sure what ( if anything ) will become of Deaf to the Static. For right now, it seems like a good umbrella for me and my friends.
UG: You’re a huge supporter of the artistic community here in the Twin Cities,. The way you utilize mixed arts into your shows is always a fresh and pleasant change-up from the usual. What is one of the most creative shows you’ve been a part of?
B: Why thank you! That’s a very good question, I have been a part of some very interesting shows. A few that come to mind: Minneapolis RAW ( Run by Molly Waseka ), The Best Love is Free, and The Celebration of Independent Music and Arts. These types of shows are my favorite, crossing the lines between different mediums of art. This city has so much talent, it seems a disservice not to pull them together.
UG: While we’re on the topic of awesome shows, I saw you’ve been billed to play at the Wag Out Block Party on July 22nd, featuring a laundry list of talented locals. Are you excited for that? Any other big shows coming up?
B: I am SO EXCITED to play this show! I have been aware of that part of the scene for a while now, but until recently our paths haven’t really crossed. People like Sophia Eris, Jason Anxious, Freeze, Mavin and Chantz … these people are infinitely talented and hard-working. I’m privileged to be building with them. I do have some other shows in the works, but I’m the most excited for this one. WAG!
UG: Let’s jump out of the music questions for a minute and ask what everyone is really dying to know, who’d you rather: Kat Von D or Melissa Joan Heart?
B: In a perfect world, I would climb up a ladder to Melissa Joan Heart’s bedroom and she’s already making out with Kat Von D. Boom-chicka-bow-ow !
UG: Back to the music, who’s your biggest motivator or inspiration when it comes to writing music?
B: I try to draw inspiration from a lot of different places, but Miss Amanda Lucia is my filter. I share most my ideas and concepts with her first, before anyone else. I also love how Matt Sandstedt ( I, Colossus ) writes lyrics and music. My friends are very inspiring.
UG: I’ve heard reputations that some guys in your band really love to party. Do you have any great tour stories to share that wouldn’t get anyone arrested?
B: Ha, it’s true! Mike and Jaime love to party … I think we have been kicked out of every hotel in Fargo. Details must be kept to a minimum though. Don’t want to hurt any feelings and wind up with a lawsuit.
UG: You’ve had the amazing opportunity to work with some of the greatest locals our era has had the pleasure to see and hear. Who are a few of your personal favorite artists you’ve got a chance to work with?
B: I was actually thinking about this the other day. I consider myself very lucky … the people who have offered their advice and suggestions is something I’m still shocked by. I have known most of the Doomtree kids for years now, and both Sims and P.O.S. have been very helpful in both music and life and the blurry line in between. The Stophouse crew has been nothing short of awesome … there is a lot of crossover in our social circle. Soulcrate Music, We All Have Hooks for Hands and Big Zach are also on the top of that list. I’m honored to know these amazing people.
UG: Will 2013 be the year Soundset finally features yourself, or the band? You guys are very overdue for it.
B: Man. I would absolutely love the play Soundset. I’m not sure if J Bird knows about Culture Cry Wolf, or if he thinks we would be a good fit, but it would be an honor. Someone tweet at him!!
UG: What are the plans for the rest of the year, any releases or videos we should be on the lookout for?
B: Culture Cry Wolf is currently working on their new EP, produced entirely by Sapient. I’m working on my solo project in tandem, and there is also a top-secret project I’m keeping under (w)raps for now. Plenty coming out soon though, I pinky promise. Keep an eye out for Culture Cry Wolf’s new music video for “Second Wind” featuring Sims of Doomtree. It might be out sooner than you’d think.
UG: If you had one piece of advice for kids looking to grow within the musical and artistic community what would it be?
B: Don’t burn bridges. Don’t judge other people too harshly. Stay humble, stay working, and polish your craft. Smiles are way more awesome than stones.
UG: Last but not least, how can the rest of the interwebs stay in touch with Botzy?
Tairy Hesticles, aka William Hinrichsen has been a quiet force, dominating the world of underground hip-hop via youtube. Not only does he have a hand in creating lyrically deep and smooth music, he plucks the even deeper underground unknown nuggets of rap gold from the mines that are the internet and shares them with hip-hop heads across the nation. If you’re a fan of the raw, realistic, emotional and passionate subgrene of hip-hop there’s guranteed to be something for you within his prolific youtube channel. While writing this, there are currently 1,988 uploaded videos on his page and I’d be willing to bet he’ll hit 2,000 before the week is over. Within those videos are a few of his own, you’ll notice they’re some of the higher viewed videos which is a testament to his musical capabilites. Tairy Hesticles himself provides a deep, self-depreciating, emotion filled side of his inner-workings towards his newest project which is due out this August. This is the interview with Tairy Hesticles, the hip-hop hedonist and the man who knows more about rap music than your local record store clerk.
UG: So you’ve got this pretty cool alias, Tairy Hesticles aka Uncle Tairy. When and how did these come about?:
TH: When I was 18 I was living in an appartment at the Heartland Ridge, right across from the college I was attending. I lived in an upstairs unit, and a guy we called Beigman lived below me. Beigman was a funny dude and had an X-Box live account named TairyHesticles. He got booted from this account and ended up using the name JesusEatsBabies, which never got deleted. JesusEatsBabies being a more acceptable name to Microsoft was supposed to be the funny part of the story, but I laughed harder at the name TairyHesticles because I have the sense of humor of a farting 12 year old. When I started my Youtube page I couldn’t think of an interesting name, so I just went with TairyHesticles.
I had a similar loss for creativity when I started making music last year. I tried to make music when I was 15 or 16 and I went by the name Kinetix on an old website called HHS…and that’s just fucking stupid. I knew I needed a name that incorporated the Tairy page, so I chose Uncle Tairy. People had posted some comments calling me Uncle Tairy on some MF DOOM videos and it just stuck with me. I liked the idea of being this creepy, old uncle to a group of misfit hip hop fans. I’m a strange guy, so it fit me.
UG: Being from Minnesota, I stay pretty engulfed in the hip-hop scene here but haven’t been able to see much other cities have to offer for local music. How’s the scene down in San Antonio, TX?
TH: I’m actually from a tiny, working class town in Illinois called Minonk. I’ve only been in San Antonio since May 10th and I’ll be leaving to the Great Lakes as soon as my Hospital Corpsman training with the Navy is finished. I don’t know much about the scene here, but I did get to see Sage Francis and B. Dolan on my birthday, which was incredible because, come on, its Sage Francis. Also, he knew about the TairyHesticles page, which was surreal to me. That’s about all I know of the music scene. Well, that and old smooth shit from UGK, 8 Ball & MJG, Swisha House, etc…
Peoria, IL and Chicago both have vibrant music scenes though. Minonk is about 45 minutes from Peoria and that’s where I met Blaise B. I think he’s responsible for a lot of the dope stuff going on around Peoria. There’s a lot of good hip hop there and a ton of good dubstep. I’m not a big fan of dubstep, but Peoria has been a haven for that dirty, unfiltered dub for years. Chicago is pretty self-explanatory. There’s bound to be a lot of thoughtful musicians in an area so rich with history and culture.
UG: I’ve been following your youtube channel for a couple years now, and you consistently post great new underground hip-hop frequently (almost 2,000 videos worth of songs), a majority of which this hip-hop head had never heard of before then. How do you find this music? Do you know these dudes?
TH: Almost everything up until late 2009 was music taken right from my collection of CD’s. Like I said before, I lived in a very small town and most of the fun I had consisted of getting high and finding new music. Once I ran out of CD’s to post, I started searching online. As generic as it is, a ton of the new music I’d check out would be from Listmania on Amazon.com. I’d look up a CD I knew I liked and then poke around at albums that were similar. Last.fm helped a lot with finding new music as well. The vast majority of music I posted before 2011 were from people that I had no contact with. When I met DKat and Airospace I started changing the philosophy of the page from posting underground hip hop that, while obscure to the mainstream, had made their rounds through the internet to more of a promotional tool for those that had just started their musical careers or had little help getting their music out. Right now I’m trying to blend the two together, but the page is still much more of a haven for up and coming artists than a place to find music you can buy in stores.
UG: As a fellow hip-hop connoisseur, what are your top 5 favorite hip-hop albums of all time?
TH: That’s a question I’ve been frequently asked and I can only answer for my favorite album. Hands down, First Born by Eyedea & Abilities is the best CD I’ve ever heard. Its just so lyrically groundbreaking. I remember first hearing that CD when I was 18, which was an exciting time in my life as far as musical discovery is concerned. I bought First Born along with Godlovesugly and I was so blown away with the way Micheal could put together thoughts. This CD alone pushed me into an obsession with hip hop and also kick started the beginning of writing thoughtful poetry. Before that I was writing more structured songs with a predictable pace and basic hook, just tinkering with punch lines and still trying to find ways to get my thoughts onto paper. After hearing First Born my writing process started to click. I can’t put an order to my other top five favorites but they are probably Madvillainy, El-P’s Fantastic Damage, Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein and Eyedea’s Oliver Hart album. There are so many more that are right up there though, including Aesop Rock’s Labor Days, Sage Francis’ A Healthy Distrust, The Roots’ Illdelph Halflife, Dr. Octagonecologyst, Deltron 3030, Souls of Mischief’s ’93 Til Infinity, A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Mauraders, Nas’ Illmatic, Kool Keith/Motion Man/Kutmasta Kurt’s Masters of Illusion, Binary Star’s Masters of the Universe, Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientelle, Atmosphere’s Lucy Ford, Mr. Lif’s I Phantom, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s E.1999 Eternal, Canibus’ Rip the Jacker, Del the Funkee Homosapien’s Both Sides of the Brain, Group Home’s Livin’ Proof, Wuf Tix’s Scumbag Delerium….there are just so many amazing albums I’ve had the pleasure of listening to.
UG: Your lyrics are intricate and woven finely. You’ve got an honesty about yourself that most artists would be afraid to show. You definitely need more recognition. When did you start writing and rapping?
TH: I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. My grandma was a great writer and she passed it on to my dad, who got me into creative writing at a very young age. I remember writing this awful song in fifth grade, the chorus was something like “I just wanna be with you today, tomorrow, tonight and I just wish for once everything would be alright” and my dad found it in the printer. He was surprised at how I could structure a song with bridges and hooks and everything, but the track was so depressing for a fifth grader to write. He wasn’t quite sure what to think, but he encouraged my writing even more after that and its just something that stuck with me. I briefly tried making rap music when I was 15 with this cheap little handheld beat maker. My best friend Froelich and I went by the name Coconut Joe’s and wrote almost exclusively about weed, the government, and how unfair it is that the government won’t just legalize weed. I ended up giving that beat maker to a buddy of mine that left town and didn’t try making music again until DKat invited me to his place in Indiana. We made a track called Tame the Time and I’ve been addicted ever since.
UG: What music influenced you most in growing up as a kid?
TH: For anyone that’s heard even a snippet of any of my songs, this is going to sound ridiculous, but up until about 5th grade I listened to only Christian music. Not necessarily by choice, but that’s all my mom would buy me. DC Talk and Jars of Clay I remember most of all. My dad was working third shift and wasn’t home much, but he’d have us listen to classics like Bob Dylan and the Doobie Brothers. In middle school I listened to a lot of pop/punk music like Blink 182 and Sum-41. If you would have met me during my childhood you would have thought I’d be more likely to be a pastor than an emcee. The Kottonmouth Kings were the first group that really got me into anything hip hop and I didn’t start listening to them until I was 15.
On a quick side note, its a real shame that the 1995 self-titled Jars of Clay CD was only marketed to Christians. That’s probably the only Christian album that I could still throw in and vibe to. Its a pretty beautiful album until you realize that the love songs are all about a guy that’s been dead for two thousand years.
UG: How did the project DRYTUNCL with you and DRTYDRDZ begin?
TH: Pretty much the same way that every good thing that has happened to me over the last year did: The Tairy page. Right around when I started making music with Ponce under the Cuple Powks name DRTY sent me a comment to check out his page. I very rarely check my comments on the page and most of the time when someone says “check out my page” it usually means “come listen to my terrible music”. I checked out his page though and really like what he was doing, especially on a beat he had called Spasmo. I never ended up using that beat, but I made Rusty Chain to one of his beats. He sent me more beats shortly after that and I connected with almost every one of them. There are good beats and then there are beats that grab you at your innermost core and make you need to write to them. Almost every one of his beats hit me like that, so I did more work with his beats and by the time I left for boot camp in January I was working almost exclusively to his production. After I got out of boot camp he had a full three albums worth of new beats and the next logical step seemed to be to make an album together.
UG: The tracks you’ve released for the DRYTUNCL album Dextromethorphan and Dog Tags are amazing so far, can’t wait for the full thing. You recently announced that you’d be sending free physical copies to those who want them. That’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen an artist do to market themselves in a long time. I know you made a video about this, but for interviews sake why did you decide to do this?
TH: The best thing to happen in my life has been discovering recording. The second best thing to happen in my life has been talking to the people that listen and give feedback to the music that I record. For this reason I want to do something for everyone that have not only been listening to my music, but also those who have been supporters of the Tairy page itself. Its not for marketing purposes, its strictly because I want to show my gratitude in any way that I can. The best part about finding out that I can rap this comparatively late to most emcees is that I already have somewhat of an established life and income outside of music, even if I am pretty broke and my life is a hilarious mess. I plan on attending graduate school for my MBA at my first duty station and the Navy pays me well enough to live, so I don’t have to worry about eating off my music, which allows me to do literally whatever I want to with it. If I want to put out an entire song based around Chris Benoit putting the Crippler Crossface on his underdeveloped son before murdering his family, I can, and the people that listen to the Tairy page are so cool that they would probably listen and laugh right along with me…as long as it wasn’t autotuned.
UG: If you could do an album full of dream collaborations who would you work with and why?
TH: Great question. Blaise B. has been my mentor in hip hop since far before I actually started recording and I’ve always wanted to do a CD with him, which we just may do now that we’ll be in the same area. Edan would be great to work with, although I get the feeling that he procrastinates a bit too much for me. I could use a perfectionist though, as I tend to just pump out tracks an hour after making them. Slug and I could make some pretty great self-deprecating material together. Sage Francis tears shit on any track he makes, so that would be amazing. Canibus, but I’m certain he would make me look like a simpleton. I always wanted to get on an Algorythms track. Aesop Rock for obvious reasons. A pure hip hop track with One-Be-Lo would be incredible. I think a track with Too Short would be one of the funniest things music has seen. Me shitting on myself for 2 minutes and Too Short being a confident pussy magnet doing what he does. I think Tyler the Creator and I could make one hell of an offensive track. Ces Cru. Type. DJ Abilities. Black Thought. Kool Keith. There are more.
UG: Who are some of the favorite people you’ve worked with and why?
TH: As far as making music, I’ve only worked with Blaise B., DRTYDRDZ, DJ Ellis (my buddy Ponce) and DJ [Sum] Asshole (my friend Anthony). My guy Punx in MN gave me some contact info to Ces Cru though, and I really enjoyed talking to them. They really appreciate their fans.
UG: How can all the fans stay updated with your new music and announcements?
TH: I’m constantly updating my Youtube page, so any new music and announcements I have will be posted up there. Once I get this album finished I’ll post links up on the page as well. I want to start a legitimate webpage in the future where you can download/purchase my music as well as others like JayKubes, Samuri Outlaw, DKat and others. The best way to get ahold of me is to e-mail me at tairyhesticles88@yahoo.com. I’m always looking for new music to post on the page as well, so if you’re reading this and want to introduce your music to the weirdos on the TairyHesticles page, send something to my inbox.
UG: What is one piece of advice you have for the kids trying to breakout into the underground music scene?
TH: I haven’t really broken out anywhere myself, so I don’t feel comfortable giving anyone advice about how to do that; however, I do have some advice for any of the kids looking to start or just starting out making hip hop music. I would tell them to make what they feel inside and not emulate anyone else, regardless of how indie or underground they may be. I know that this is much easier said than done, since everyone making music is influence by the others that came before them, but if you can get your actual feelings onto the page and make music for your own sanity, its so much more satisfying than framing your music around something you’ve heard. It may come out odd, sensitive, angry, or even confident if that’s what’s really inside of you, but at the end of the day if you do gain some recognition you’re going to have to live the music you’ve been making.
And if all else fails, grow a complete disdain for everyone else and masturbate a lot…that seems to have worked for me so far.
So apparently I follow this trend of creating lots and lots of interviews, lists and posts at one sporadic time. This tends to mean I (or in this case, you the reader) miss out on lots of releases, videos and all kinds of good stuff. This post offers an apology for those gaps of time and also a compilation of some of the best stuff you may have missed in the last month. Thanks for reading, or subscribing if you do and thanks even more for your patience!
Guante ft. Graham O’brien – “This is the opposite of a suicide note remix”
Minneapolis-based hip hop artist, 2-time National Poetry Slam champion, activist and educator GUANTE teams up with drummer and producer GRAHAM O’BRIEN (of No Bird Sing, Prey for Paralysis, Junkyard Empire) for this remix of one of Guante’s most memorable songs.
“This is the Opposite of a Suicide Note” is a war cry, a manifesto, an acknowledgement that as bad as things can get, there is always hope and power in community.
Guante & Big Cats! will release “You Better Weaponize” in Fall 2012. Guante’s next show is at the Cedar Cultural Center on July 26, part of the Cedar’s “Cedar Outdoors” series. Graham O’Brien is currently writing, producing and performing on a number of projects, including the follow-up to his 2011 solo release “Live Drums” and the 3rd album from No Bird Sing. In addition, he and audio engineer Adam Krinsky have teamed up to build and open “Bellows,” a new recording and mixing studio in downtown St. Paul. Graham is performing next at St. Paul’s “Music In Mears” with No Bird Sing on August 9 at Mears Park in St. Paul.
3flection – “Rejuvenation”
“Rejuvenation” is the lead single off of 3flection’s next EP “Doses Of Reality” which will be available for free on July 30, 2012. Video by F5 Entertainment, beat by hala-X.
Aer – “Floats My Boat”
Sab the Artist ft. Ganzobean – “Love Is In The Air”
Here’s the first track from Love Is In Air 2 titled “Love Is In The Air”. Written and performed by Sab The Artist. Produced by Ganzobean.
Trouble B – “On My Way To Mars”
Aesop Rock – “ZZZ Top”
Directed by Pete Lee
Produced by Lizzie Rose
Exec Prod: Aesop Rock
Dir. of Photography: Drew Daniels
Sound Design: Matteo Grilli
Starring Aesop Rock + Hao Zhi Hua aka Patti Li,
Zumbi, Dennis Ruel, Edward Kahana, Vlad Rimburg, Lucas Okuma, Alvin Hsing, Bryan Cartago
With the release of his mixtape “Life As I Know It” right around the corner, Papa J. brings his fourth official music video since joining The Movement. His lyrical word play continues to set the bar for the modern day MC, keep an eye out on his mixtape dropping real soon!
Homeless ft. K.Raydio – “Get Gone”
Yonas – “The Transition”
Chris Goodwin – “Night Owl EP”
Instrumental EP from uglegends FB contributor Chris Goodwin. This man knows good music.
OnePlusOne (a.k.a. Dispute-One and Orikal Uno) – “Homework Volume 1″
OnePlusOne presents: Homework Volume One
The long awaited mix-tape from Dispute One and Orikal Uno. Mixed and blended by D’Jo of Slipmats Radio
I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff I missed so feel free to add in the comments or e-mail me! Lot’s more coming today so heads up for subscribers, your inbox is going to be blown up.
Gaines remixed Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Recipe” for his upcoming release Night Crawler: Reloaded (which is due out August 1st). The visual’s for Gaines’ single “Thinking Out Loud” were released a couple days ago, I’m late on this I know, courtesy of Kale Eickhoff and the man himself.
If you grew up in the 90′s as a latchkey kid like myself, you probably learned vital life lessons from either TeenNick, Snick or any other various Nickelodeon programming blocks. Shows like Catdog and Pete and Pete taught us about the importance of friendship, while shows like Hey Arnold! and Rurgats taught us rights from wrongs. Ahh! Real Monsters showed us acceptance of all, and Doug gave us a moral compass that couldn’t steer us wrong. All That was the musical hub of Nickelodeon with a theme song from TLC and performances from everyone who was anyone in the 90′s. And that’s not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to shows.. There’s not a network out there like it’s kind during the time. This post is meant to sprinkle a little nostalgia into your hump-day, and make you remember simpler times when the big question was: who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda. Below are songs that have been remixed, remade, and freestyle with the topic of Nickelodeon nostalgia. Enjoy.
To kick it off, we have the original N-n-n-n-n-nii-niick-nick-nick-nickelodeon theme remixed:
“Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society” is the perfect way to start off an ode to the once beloved channel:
This video was probably part of the push that ended with Nickelodeon’s re-formatting of programs to include a block of 90′s era shows. And the mash-ups with the characters is pretty well done:
Guys from a Nickelodeon show freestyling (only reason I’m allowing this on here is because they name drop Minnesota):
This one probably includes the most references, definitely the most visual ones:
Auto-tuned hip-hip song about Timmy Turner and The Fairly Odd Parents:
This one was circulated quite a bit, but I really enjoy thinking of Chris Brown’s face as Spongebob’s:
A freestyle about Nickelodeon, A+ efforts for the use of Slime in this video:
Probably the most creative one I found, not sure why this or any of their videos don’t have more views. Homeless Heroes are a group that receive topics from viewers, than simultaneously (at least for the viewers-sake) rap about it/paint it. Very cool stuff, here was their tribute to Hey Arnold!:
One of the best theme songs for a TV show of all time:
Last but not least, the best theme song for a TV show of all time:
Another artist who sent me a submission via e-mail, I really enjoy this one. There’s a pretty deep message in there about big-oil. Here’s the press release they sent:
3flection and F5 Entertainment would like to send you their new politically-charged music video: “Hooked.” “Hooked” is a hip hop video that makes a major statement against “Big Oil” and American oil consumption using the analogy of a violent drug addict that is ruining not only his own life, but the lives of others around him. Filmed in St. Paul MN, the video is a gritty representation of an issue that the artists feel is plaguing the country. The track is produced by hit-maker Sean Divine, and is an entry for his video contest.
3flection is a Wisconsin transplant who now calls the booming Twin Cities hip hop scene his own. His thought-provoking and honest lyrical style draws comparisons to artists such as Atmosphere, Macklemore, and Grieves, and his high energy performances have been garnering him plenty attention over the past year. 3flection’s latest project, “The Best Intentions EP” was released for free in March 2012, and he is preparing to release a new solo project entitled “Doses of Reality” this summer.
F5 Entertainment is an independent video production company located in Eau Claire, WI. The company brings Hollywood style video to the Midwest, and their work has not gone unnoticed: the last three F5-produced videos have surpassed 40,000 views.
This video has surpassed 626,000. Watch it below:
You can download the song “Hooked” at 3flection’s soundcloud page, and download his previous albums for free via his website. Also you can follow him on Facebook or Twitter to stay updated. You can watch more of F5′s videos via their website, and follow them on facebook or twitter.
